In an IT emergency, it is always the IT department that is expected to be first on the scene, but as J.T. explains, they are the first to be called even when there might be something a little hotter cooking…
For the past few years, I have worked in the IT department of a large publishing company. Around 10:00 on a Wednesday night I was doing some routine maintenance when the company's emergency line rang. This was a line reserved for dire emergencies like server failure or a complete power loss, so I was a little surprised to hear a fervent whispering voice of one of the new editors on the other end.
I had set up this editor's desktop earlier that week and remembered that the company had hired him from a small backwater town where he did most of his work on a typewriter. Needless to say, teaching him the word processor had been quite a feat.
"You have to get to my office right away," he said between nervous, shallow breaths, "there could be a fire!"
I sat bolt upright in my chair; he certainly had my attention now. "What do you mean, a fire?!"
"No time for that! You need to hurry, get down here!" And he hung up the phone.
Grabbing an old fire extinguisher from the corner in one hand and the cordless phone in the other (in case he called back or I needed to dial 911 on the way to the office), I sprinted down the hall. After skidding to a stop at his office door, I checked to see if the handle was hot. It wasn't, so I threw the door open and entered the small space.
No flames. No smoke. Just the new editor with eyes wide open. I tried to look for some hidden fire, running my fingers over the UPC and moving the trash can away from the power outlet. I stood up, a bit confused, and said, "I don't see anything."
The hoarse voice whispered urgently in my ear: "By the fridge! The microwave!"
The offices came standard with a small micro-fridge that sat squat in the corner. I checked it over, but everything seemed to be working properly. The appliance combination was humming just as it should have been. I told him everything was in order.
Still, he had wide eyes. "But the microwave's door won't close! Look, look! It will start a fire!"
Now I was curious. "And why would it do that?"
"If the door is left open, won't the microwaves spill out onto the floor and cause a fire?"
Before I had gotten one minute into my explanation, he was shuffling his feet and inspecting his shoes.
Lesson learned: Either always close your microwave door, or make sure to include appliance operation 101 in the next new employee handbook.
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